Dan has received a lot of Will Kirby comparisons for his work on Big Brother 10. They might be partly apt, but the differences between the two men are vast. Will Kirby's whole game was about being overtly shameless, toying with his fellow houseguests after telling them he would toy with them. Dan was far more under-handed, perhaps more clever, in how he went about manipulating those around him. Will's whole persona was an act, while Dan kept his own persona, mostly, but spent a lot of time acting to sway the perspective of the houseguests. Dan was the most active player on Big Brother 10 and, thanks in part to luck and a string of competition victories, it all worked out for the Catholic school teacher. Why does he deserve to win $500,000?

It's simple. He took risks. He played the game. You can't ask for much more as an audience member. Early in the season, I thought that I would despise Dan. His biography painted the picture of a close-minded ultra-conservative jerk. It soon became clear that this wasn't the case. While he may be religious, it wasn't in the offensively overt fashion of a Natalie or Jameka or Natalie. He didn't preach, he didn't judge. Dan, in reality, is a smart guy who has an easy way with people. The best part about Dan is that he was able to separate the relationships he made inside the house from the game that is Big Brother. Early on, he recognized that Big Brother is a competition. Catering to the feelings of others wasn't a priority for Dan. For that, viewers can be thankful.

Dan deserves to win. He backstabbed some people, but that's the kind of game you have to play to make it far in the game. What's important to know is that Dan was convincing enough in the deals that he made, that his enemies trusted him before he orchestrated their eviction. Dan started the season on unsteady ground. He was almost evicted, thanks to his connection to Brian, Steven and Angie. Perhaps the most impressive feat by anyone in the game, Dan switched gears dramatically, and faded into the scenery. He got sympathy to come his way, purposely lost all the challenges, and floated for awhile until he needed to.

Dan made no mistakes. He's here now. He took risks. For a show whose entertainment value is partly based on the houseguests doing ballsy things, Dan made Big Brother entertaining. For that alone, he probably deserves $500,000.

Memphis, the unsung mastermind of Big Brother 10. Memphis, now on the precipice of victory, this close to $500,000, can look back on his time in the Big Brother house and be proud of what he did. In a way, it's hard to separate Dan and Memphis when it comes to what they accomplished inside the Big Brother house. They were a great compliment to one another. In a way, Dan was the Bad Cop, Memphis the Good Cop (though, they traded these labels when it came to Keesha). They hid their alliance for a long time, and Memphis was able to sit back and let Dan do much of the dirty work. You might argue that Dan deserves to win because of this, but wasn't Memphis just being smart? If you have a partner in crime willing to go through with all the risky moves, why do any of them yourself? If you don't piss anybody off, all the better for you if your plans fall apart. Memphis did exactly what he had to do.

When you have a player like Dan, who schemed and lied and exerted a ton of mental effort into making it as far as he did, it's hard to look at someone like Memphis and say they deserve to win. But, it's not like Memphis skated by. He was able to cultivate relationships with most everyone inside the house. He rarely looked like the bad guy when people were evicted. He never won a Head of Household. It was almost effortless, Memphis's season. In a way, isn't that more impressive than what Dan accomplished? Memphis didn't put any unnecessary effort into his game play. It might not have made for the most exciting game, but it was effective nonetheless.

What it's going to come down to, for Memphis, is whether or not the jury responds to Dan's puppet-mastery. If they buy that Dan was the brains behind the operation, and that he had orchestrated all the evictions, then Memphis might be in trouble. However, if Memphis can convince the jury that he was as just a big of a part in the master plan as Dan was, but kept his hands clean in the process, he might have a shot. It, of course, doesn't hurt that Memphis is generally more well-liked than Dan.

And, really, Memphis is just a good guy. If you were basing your vote simply on where your heart told you to go, Memphis is the obvious choice, is he not? There's nothing complex about what Memphis did on Big Brother 10. He went about his business, played when he had to play, got to know people when he needed to, and ended up making the final two. You can't say that's not impressive.

I am quite impressed that the two boys have figured out how to make a football out of aluminum foil to play with. Very resourceful - kind of like Yvette's ghetto slip and slide - which has lived on in BB land.

okay I'm officially very sad!! I want them both to win. One getting the 50k just doesn't seem fair. it should be 250 and 500. Come on CBS--Survivor's a mill. One of these guys is going to be very bummed out. I bet when you start the game - 50k sounds good. But by the time you go through all the comps, game playing, back stabbing, lying, and stress -- the prize of 50k just doesn't sound as good.

Did anyone besides me hear Dan say last night that one of the PAs told Michelle to "shut up" I think he might have been talking about the beach trip cause he was telling Memphis what she had said about how they were getting along at the jury house.

OK, somebody's got some 'splainin to do because I am just not getting it - These two guys are smart enough to beat out everyone else in the house to get to the final two and win all the money, BUT - Memphis said that he wished they could take the chess board downstairs to play (we assume it's fixed in place), THEN - BB gave them checkers - and they played checkers downstairs at the kitchen counter - Well why the hell don't they take the chess pieces downstairs to the checkerboard to play chess? I am just not getting it! It's the little things - the incongruities - that really make me crazy!

My opinion dan wins 5/2. I am hoping for a 4/3 split just to make it a nail biter. I hate it when someone comes up with a 7/0 vote. Lets make it intense. Let Libras key be the last one pulled with a 3/3 tie at that point!

I think that tonight's show was one of the best taped BBs that I can remember. They certainly had the right two HGs to pull that off. Dan and Memphis were naturals. I thought it was going to be a recap drag. A lot of what they showed was from BBAD, so the CBS audience got a treat. I don't remember that Jerry rap thing - cracked me up, as did the "Memphis as Gay Hairdresser" thing. Thus far I think it's been a pretty good cast. They certainly weren't boring and trashy like "that" season.

Ok let me revert back for a moment...yesterday I was watching the feeds and Dan said to Memphis...Renny kept calling me out on being AP and Libra kept bringing it up, they wouldnt let it go and I thought they had it figured out..(something along those lines)...immediately after memphis starts talking about dan concealing the fact that he took michelle on the luxury comp that he had lied about that too and memphis said he should have known because dan kept bringing up the empty chair on the beach...the convo then flips to jerry and memphis says jerry was smart enough to know dan was hiding something! That is why I was asking if dan had told memphis about AP in secret....I didnt post the convo on the feed thread because I didnt know if what I had heard was right or if it was common knowledge.......now I am back at guessing again If he indeed would lose the AP money by telling memphis then I guess I came into an ongoing convo between them and didnt catch the first part ................